Thermosetting urea-formaldehyde composition



Patented Apr. 10, 1945 UNITED STATE THERMOISETTINGV UREA-FORMALDEHYDE COMPOSITION Henry A. Walter, Columbia, Mo... assignor to Libbey-Owens-Ford Glass- Company, Toledo, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio No Drawing. Application April 16. 1943,

Serial No. 483,345

3 Claims.

The invention relates to a thermosetting com-.-

position comprising a urea-formaldehyde reaction product and a novel latent curing catalyst.

When a thermosetting composition is shaped in a mold under pressure at an elevated temperature, it first softens and then hardens at th molding temperature, whereas a thermoplastic composition that is hot-molded remains soft until the molded piece is cooled. Thus an article can be molded from a thermosetting composition simply byplacing the composition in a hot mold, closing the mold, and then removing the finished article after a relatively short time while the mold is still hot. The molding of an article from a thermoplastic composition presents a more complex problem, because an article molded from such a composition must be cooled before the mold is opened to prevent blistering and other deformation which would occur if the mold were opened while the thermoplastic material was still hot.

The length of time for which a molding composition must be left in the mold is one of the factors determining the cost of articles molded from the composition. A composition that must be left in the mold twice as long as another composition requires about twice as much molding equipment for the same volume of production, and hot-molding equipment is expensive.

A urea-formaldehyde reaction product is thermosetting in the presence of an acid substance in that it is cured or tra'nsformedby heat from a fusible composition into an infusible resin. In order to cause-such transformation to take place, an acid substance must be present to act as a catalyst. In the molding of an article trom'a urea-formaldehyde composition, it is necessary to leave the composition in the hot mold for a shorttime after the mold has been closed in order to complete the transformation to the infusible resin so as to produce an articleof optimum quality.

plied in an .acid condition by a manufacturer, becausea. urea-formaldehyde composition that is acid is'unstable in storage. If it is acid, a ureaformaldehyde composition gradually becomes infusible atordinary temperatures. Such a composition could not be sold by a manufacturer because it would be infusible and worthless by the time .it reached the hands of a molder. Even slight acidity which causes the composition to become infusible very gradually would make the composition commercially unacceptable,

- because the plasticity and other molding properties of the composition would be wholly dependent upon the atmospheric temperature prevailing and the number of hours elapsed between the production of the finished composition by the manufacturer and the molding of the composition by the user. A user who molds articles from a urea-formaldehyde composition must select a composition of the proper plasticity and test the composition by molding it under various conditions to" determine the exact conditions required to give the desired results. In order to maintain the quality of the product, he must then continue to use a composition of'exactly the same plasticity and to mold it under exactly the same conditions. If the composition used by the molder is unstable and has molding properties which vary with the length of time elapsed since the composition was produced, it is impossible for the molder to mold successive articles from the composition with satisfactory results.

The length of time for which it is necessary to A latent curing catalyst in a urea-formaldehyde composition is an ingredient that causes the transformation of the composition to an infusible resin in a hot mold, but does not materially impair the stability of the composition in storage at ordinary temperatures prior to hot molding. True latent curing catalysts are very rare. A latent curing catalyst may be alkaline, neutral or so slightly acid. that it does not apl ieciably acidify a urea-formaldehyde composition when added thereto. It is believed that such a substance by the acid substance used as a catalyst: the

molding of, a urea-formaldehyde composition, a

urea-formaldehyde composition cannot be sup- 5e breaks up or undergoes molecular rearrangement to form an acid, but does not. do so until the molding temperature is reached In orderthat such a substance may act as a curing catalyst the acid so formed must be strong nough .to cause the transformation of the urea-formaldehyde 2 molding conditions sufler the same decomposition within a few hours after being intimately mixed with a urea-formaldehyde composition,

and therefore are not latent, curing catalysts. Moreover, the behavior of a substance when present as a minor ingredient in a molding composition and subjected to moldinglpressure at the molding temperature of 270-330 1?. cannot be predicted from its behavior when subjected by itself to such a temperature under atmospheric pressure. Most of the potentially acid substances that do not impair the stability of a molding composition when incorporated therewith fail to cause the transformation of the com position to an infusible resin in a hot mold.

Although certain halogenated organic compounds that liberate hydrobromic or hydrochloric acid when heated have been known to act as latent curing catalysts when incorporated in urea-formaldehyde molding compositions, substances that liberate organic acids are preferable to substances that liberate strong inorganic acids. because of the danger of mold corrosion by strong inorganic acids. Certain organic peroxides, such as benzoyl peroxide, have been used heretofore as latent curing catalysts, but there are many organic pigments useful in molding compositions that are deleteriously affected when a peroxide is present in-thecomposition. v

The principal object of the invention is to provide a thermosetting urea-formaldehyde composition containing a novel latent curing catalyst.

More specific objects and advantages are ap-- parent from the description, which discloses and illustrates the invention, and isnot intended to impose limitations upon the claims.

A thermosetting composition embodying the invention comprises a urea-formaldehyde reaction product and clnnamhydroxamic acid cacac as a latent curing catalyst.

In the preparation of a reaction product of urea and formaldehyde for use in a composition embodying the invention, the'urea may be reacted either with formaldehyde orwith a poly- 'mer thereof, such as paraformaldehyde. Al

through under some conditions it is p rmissible to react dry urea with dry paraformaldehyde, the reaction preferably is carried out in an aqueous solution that is approximately neutral at the start of the reaction. vSince commercial aqueous ll will react with each mol of urea, but an excess of formaldehyde above such maximum or a smaller proportion ranging down to about one 'mol of formaldehyde for each mol of urea may be used for the reaction if desired. Because of .the complexity of'the molecules of the reaction products, the proportion of formaldehy e actually reacting with the urea may vary freely between the limits stated. The reaction proceeds at ordinary temperamreabut heat may be used 'toshortenthetimeofreoctionifdeeirednre- 1 action product may be prepared by carrying the reaction of the urea and formaldehyde only to its earliest stage, for example the stage at which the urea and formaldehyde have just been brought into solution together, or the reaction may be carried to any further stage at which the reaction product is still fusible.

The preferred method of preparing a molding composition consists in preparing an aqueous so- 19 lution of a urea-formaldehyde reaction product,

impregnating cellulosic material with the solution, and then drying. Although alpha cellulose is the purest and lighest-colored cellulosic material that may be employed, any other cellulosic-material, such as wood flour, wood pulp, newsprint.

printed newspaper, sawdust, shavings, walnut shell flour, or ground corn cobs may be used. The

impregnated and dried cellulosic material preferably is ground to a fine powder in order to pro- 20 duce a homogeneous composition, and the latincorporated during the grinding. The line powder so obtained may be formed into coarse granules, or into solid blanks or preiorms of the proper sizes for use in various molds. Molded articles may be produced in the usual manner by compressing the composition in a closed mold under a pressure of one to four tons per square inch of projected area and at a temperature of 270- 330 F. The proportion of cellulosic material in a dry composition embodying the invention preferably is from about 30 to about lo per cent, but may range from none to as much as per cent in the case of a dense cellulosic material, such as walnut shell flour. The proportion of the latent curing catalyst employed is simply that proportion which causes the hardening to take place at the desired speed.

Example After alpha cellulose fiber parts by weight) has been impregnated with an aqueous solution containing parts of a urea-formaldehyde reaction product, the impregnated material is dried 50 by any of the usual drying methods. Heat may be usedas is customary to expedite the drying, and drying by means of a stream of air is convenient. The dried material is ground in a ball mill together with about one half of one percent of its weight of cinnamhydroxamic acid, and any other desired modifiers. The resulting powder is usuable as a molding composition for many applications but can be granulated or preformed. Various compositions embodying the invention may be prepared to meet various requirements.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A thermosetting composition comprising a' urea-formaldehyde reaction product and cinnamhydroxamic acid as a latent curing catalyst.

65 2. A the'rmosetting composition comprising a urea-formaldehyde reaction product, cellulosic material, and cinnamhydroxamic acid as a lat-.

ent curing catalyst.

3. A thermosetting composition comprising a 10 urea-formaldehyde reaction product and an amount of cinnamhydroxamic acid equal to about one half of one per cent of the weight of the composition. as a latent curing catalyst.

mm WALTER. 

